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NYC to host the World Science Festival in May

Scientists, stars, and school chancellors gather to announce the World Science …

This morning, the schedule for World Science Festival '08 was announced. The event, which will take place at institutions around Manhattan at the end of May, features a variety of scientific and cultural events intended to help connect the public to science. The announcement was focused on talks from two of the Festival's prime movers, physicist Brian Greene and actor Alan Alda, the heads of many of New York's educational institutions, and a performance by Bunsen Honeydew of Muppet Labs.

Alda kicked things off by claiming, "the most exciting city in the world is about to become even more exciting." The Festival is all about reminding people that "we live in a world that runs on science," he said, "we can become excited by science if we hear about it from people who really love it."

Greene, who has written several books on string theory for popular audiences, talked about how his books have helped people connect with science for the first time, and how the festival will try to get the message out that, "science is inspirational, it is exciting, it informs our lives in significant ways."

To do that, they've enlisted Emmy-winning television journalist Tracy Day to help organize over forty events over five days, targeted at a range of audiences. Day described four major types of presentations, including signature events that describe the story of science as a narrative and focus on our current knowledge, covering everything from longevity and memory to quantum mechanics. Other presentations will focus on science-inspired art and performances; Day hoped people would, "come for the art and leave with the science."

Other programs would target youth and students, giving them a chance to chat with Nobel laureates, or attend a discussion with physiologists, psychologists, and NBA players about the science of basketball. An appeal for youth was made with Bunsen Honeydew's appearance at the press conference. The muppet reinforced Day's claim that the event would, "communicate real science, with integrity," as he pointed out that Greene's field, string theory, had about as much experimental support as his own silly-string theory, which seemed to involve spraying Greene with lots of the stuff.

Many of the events will run concurrently, forcing people to choose among options for their time. "We want to make people hungry," Alda said. The Festival organizers also wanted to take advantage of having many leading scientists in town at once. In addition to the public sessions, the scientists will be holding private meetings with policy makers and businessmen throughout the course of their time in New York.

The events will involve many of New York's major cultural and educational institutions, including Columbia University, New York University, the City University of New York, The Cooper Union, and Rockefeller University. The presidents of each of these schools, along with New York City Public Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, all spoke about the significance of the event. Program Partners include obvious science choices, such as The American Museum of Natural History, The New York Academy of Sciences, Liberty Science Center, the New York Botanical Garden and the New York Hall of Science. But the emphasis on cultural events has also pulled in the Guggenheim Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library and the New York Historical Society.

That lineup of institutions essentially ensures that the Science Festival will take center stage in a city that is itself a very big stage. We interviewed several of the organizers about the motivation for and process of putting the Festival together, so watch for more details in our science section at Nobel Intent. We'll also be attending many of the events and should get the chance to talk to some of the scientists once they arrive in New York, so expect extensive coverage as the event draws near.